Vichy - Queen of the Old Spa Towns - France 🇫🇷

Vichy, where we spent two nights, is located in an old volcanic area that has been dormant for the last 150,000 years. The heat that remains below ground is responsible for the existence of nearly 300 springs, many of them hot. The town became well established and popular during Roman times. The curative effects of the waters was brought attention in 1676 when the Marquise de Sevigny visited and the town through her contacts and writings started to become fashionable. Two daughters of Louis XV arrived in the 1760`s and after a later visit in 1785 they persuaded their nephew, Louis XVI, to build more luxurious accommodations. After revolution Napoleon`s mother arrived and the Parc des Sources was laid out. The town`s increasing popularity saw the arrival in 1861 of the Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Eugenie. Separate houses (cottages) were built for the Imperial couple and other luminaries of the Second Empire. Parks, grand boulevards and a building boom followed. After the fall of the Empire the "Belle Epoch" saw continuing growth with more grand buildings, spa facilities and a new Opera House. WW1 saw only a temporary pause in growth and the town became a really popular destination for tourists from French Algeria. WW2 though changed everything. Vichy found itself the capital (although Paris remained officially capital) of the rump "State of France" comprising that area not annexed by Nazi Germany. Vichy France could do little other than collaborate with the Nazi`s. After the war the town resumed its life of leisure welcoming many crowned heads and film stars. It acquired the name "Queen of Spa Towns". By 1963 the river Allier was dammed and a lake created alongside the city. A couple of decades of decline though followed but today a revival is now well underway. Since the end of the 20th century works have been taking place to restore much of the grandeur of the spa town. While we were there the Parc des Sources was being restored and a facelift has been given to many grand buildings. Some though still await renewal. We explore the town beginning in a district to the south of the centre where many Art Nouveaux buildings can be seen. The church of St Blaise has a fabulous interior in the Art Deco style.
After wandering through the heart of the city we follow the line of parks that separate the built up area from the Lake Allier and complete a circuit of the waters. It was a surprisingly hot afternoon with brilliant blue skies and calm reflective waters. Somewhere else we hope to be able to visit again.

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